Costa Rica: San José & the Coastal Puntarenas

Say “pura vida” to the monkeys, sloths and parrots as the plentiful wildlife will surely put a smile on your face. Then spread joy on a visit to local students where you’ll truly sense the jovial culture of ticos. Can’t get enough? Add a splash of white water rafting!
RECENT TOUR DIARIES:
April 10, 2017 - April 14, 2017
January 2, 2017 - January 6, 2017
September 29, 2016 - October 4, 2016
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Day 1 Hola San José (groups flying from the west coast may be required to depart day 0)
Meet your tour director and check into hotel
Day 2 San José--Coastal Puntarenas
Travel to Coastal Puntarenas
Carara National Park visit
Optional  Canopy zip line tour  $55
Details: Carara National Park visit
Explore the Carara National Park with your certified local guide. Located two hours away from San Jose between the dry forests of the Pacific north and the very humid ones of the south coast, this "ecotone" gives Carara its biodiversity. You will share the park with American crocodiles, the rare scarlet macaws, great anteaters, ocelots, spider monkeys and yellow-naped parrots. The bridge over the Tárcoles river offers a good vantage point to bird watch or observe the crocodiles below.
Day 3 Coastal Puntarenas
Manuel Antonio National Park guided visit
Butterfly Farm visit
Free time at the beach
Details: Manuel Antonio National Park guided visit
Take a tour of this national park with your Tour Director who is certified as a professional, local guide. Manuel Antonio includes 12 islands and is known for its white sands and array of wild life. You will share the park and its four beaches with sea turtles, parrots, three-toed sloths, tapirs, howler monkeys and iguanas. A word to the wise—be careful of the sneaky white face monkeys. They know how to unzip backpacks. The park boasts an estuary, mangroves, a lagoon and paths, one which leads to an observation tower for a 360° view.
Day 4 Coastal Puntarenas--San José
School visit
Travel to San José
Optional  Folklore evening  $35
Details: School visit
Take the opportunity to enrich a Costa Rican school with gifts of notebooks, pens, erasers -- all basic supplies that few students here can afford. Learn how rural communities are working to give their children educational opportunities in extremely difficult conditions, often with dozens of students in all different grades taught in a single classroom. We will stop to pick up supplies before visiting, but feel free to bring donations of school supplies like chalk or paper from home, too. (If schools are not in session, you'll be able to give gifts of t-shirts, socks, and other clothing to local children.)
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Day 5 End tour
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    Day 5 Start river rafting extension
    Whitewater rafting guided excursion
    Details: Whitewater rafting guided excursion
    The perfect way to experience Costa Rica at its best. After getting full safety and paddling instructions from your guide, head off into lush rainforest teeming with toucans, herons, and iguanas. Be on the lookout for basilisk lizards—these reptiles can scurry across the water on their hind legs, a feat that earned them the nickname “Jesus Christ lizards.” End your tour of Costa Rica’s most popular river with a traditional lunch prepared by your guide.
    Day 6 End tour
    Map of the Costa Rica: San José & the Coastal Puntarenas Tour | Explorica Educational Travel
    Tour Includes:
    • Round-trip airfare
    • 4 overnight stays in hotels (5 with extension)
    • Buffet-style breakfast daily
    • Lunch daily
    • Dinner daily
    • Full-time services of a professional Tour Director
    • Guided sightseeing tours and city walks as per itinerary
    • Visits to select attractions as per itinerary
    • Tour Diary™
    • Note: On arrival day only dinner is provided; on departure day, only breakfast is provided
    • Note: Tour cost does not include airline-imposed baggage fees, or fees for any required passport or visa. Please visit our Fees FAQ page for a full list of items that may not be included in the cost of your tour.
    We are better able to assist you with a quote for your selected departure date and city over the phone. Please call 1.888.310.7120 to price this tour with your requested options.
    Please select a postal code
    1793.00 total fee
    Basic Options


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